Life as a Wife: Steal Time Together

03.23.15

Simone and Martin Photography

Timing is everything. Sometimes, it’s coincidental. Other times, it’s intentional. Let’s talk about the intentional kind of timing. The kind of time you create for your career, your relationships, your passions.

Life pulls us in all sorts of directions — from meetings, to happy hours, to errands, to date nights — and it’s tough to balance everything. So I don’t. Instead, I’m learning to balance the imbalances.

For Jake and I, our work-home balance is favoring a little more toward work right now. That’s okay. We made it a 2015 goal to both work + travel more while we’re able to.

Still, I never want our career dreams [or our future family dreams] to trump a dream we’ve already been gifted — each other. We’ve been discovering simple ways to squeeze in more time together on busy days, and I wanted to share our lyst with you… [hope it helps you]!

1. GO TO BED TOGETHER. This is good for your relationship in all the ways you can imagine [sorry, mom]. Don’t allow work to keep you on your computer well after your partner is asleep.

2. HAVE A CUP OF JOE. Just like you end the day together — start the day together. Once Jake and I started discussing our day — planned meetings, appointments, assignments — we became more aware and understanding of each other’s schedules.

3. TEXT EMOJIS. A crazy day at work doesn’t always allow for phone calls. But you can always text. Even a silly emoji can go a long ways.

4. PLAN DATE NIGHTS. We pencil in a date night out each week and make it a priority. This sometimes leads us to…

5. SAY NO. We’re learning to say no to things if they pop up on date nights. Still, we can’t always help if an important work assignment keeps us late, or if a sibling needs our help. We just do our best.

6. EMPATHIZE. I think all of us set expectations, and sometimes those expectations fall short. Things go late. We forget promises. Tempers are tested. Still, try to empathize with one another. Partnerships should be a safe zone, rather than a volatile back-and-forth of what the other person is doing wrong.

7. RUN ERRANDS. Mundane errands feel a lot less mundane when you have someone to do them with. Grocery runs are a good way to steal time together + work as a team.

8. SNUGGLE + SWEAT. Beaffectionate + sweat it out together. I love a good partner workout [here’s one you can do at home]. Studies prove couples who work out together have better relationships!

9. DIY IT. I’m not very handy. Neither is my husband. But we still buy those stupid DIY dressers and desks. Why? Because they usually end with wine and inappropriate jokes.

10. TALK ABOUT WORK. Work is a big part of who we are, so it shouldn’t feel taboo to talk about. Day-to-day life is more relaxing when I carve out time to discuss what’s happening at the office.

… and one last thought. Pray together [in whatever form of prayer you believe in]. Life can be really hard. But it becomes a whole lot easier when you’re working through it alongside your faith.